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Virology Down Under

Facts, data, info, expert opinion and a reasonable, occasionally grumpy, voice on viruses: what they are, how they tick and the illnesses they may cause.

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Super-cold or a silly headline?

Super-cold or a silly headline?

In Australia, there seem to be a bunch of articles talking about “super-colds”. Please stop calling them this. They are just colds caused by one or more of the many Read More ...

An early & big flu rise in Australia

An early & big flu rise in Australia

Influenza (flu) cases have been rising rapidly in Australia this year. Some see this as a result of waning immunity during our border closures. Some see this as the harbinger Read More ...

The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral

The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral

A visual representation of how to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 struck a chord with many in 2020. I won’t rehash all that has already been written about the Swiss cheese Read More ...

BA.2.12.1 is on the rise in New York…

BA.2.12.1 is on the rise in New York…

A recently named sub-strain represents the latest twist in the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2. It’s currently active in the United States and looks to be very capable of spreading, outpacing Read More ...

An early & big flu rise in Australia

Posted onJune 7, 2022June 8, 2022

Influenza (flu) cases have been rising rapidly in Australia this year. Some see this as a result of waning immunity during our border closures. Some see this as the harbinger Read More …

CategoriesInfluenza

NEXTSTRAIN Clades, 02MAY2022

BA.2.12.1 is on the rise in New York…

Posted onMay 2, 2022May 2, 2022

A recently named sub-strain represents the latest twist in the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2. It’s currently active in the United States and looks to be very capable of spreading, outpacing Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Variants

Unexplained hepatitis: severe liver inflammation among young children

Posted onApril 25, 2022May 11, 20221 Comment

Uncharacterised and so far rare cases of unexplained severe liver inflammation among young children. These cases of unexplained hepatitis have been appearing in elevated numbers worldwide since November 2021. The Read More …

CategoriesAdenovirus, Emerging disease, SARS-CoV-2, Uncategorized

Lockdowns had a role: they saved lives

Posted onApril 18, 2022April 18, 2022

There are threats and lists and all manner of abuse aimed at those who promoted or supported measures that saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. I just want to make Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19, Pandemic, TransmissionTagsLockdown

Super-cold or a silly headline?

Posted onApril 15, 2022April 17, 2022

In Australia, there seem to be a bunch of articles talking about “super-colds”. Please stop calling them this. They are just colds caused by one or more of the many Read More …

CategoriesCoughs & colds

Arrr a piRATe

Arrrrr on the rise (Rhinovirus, RSV and RATs)

Posted onMarch 19, 2022March 26, 2022

Anecdotally there are a lot of acute respiratory virus infections ripping through the community where I live. Particularly noticeable in schools but also workplaces. Yes, there is SARS-CoV-2 among these Read More …

CategoriesRhinovirus, SARS-CoV-2, Transmission

Thank goodness we did all the work

Posted onJanuary 29, 2022January 29, 20226 Comments

Thank goodness we didn’t hold off on opening up to see what Omicron was capable of. We had to have Christmas. And there were national cabinet agreements. Anyway, how could Read More …

CategoriesAerosols, Communication, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Editorial, Enterovirus, Influenza, Parechovirus, Rhinovirus, SARS-CoV-2, Transmission

Living next door to Alice

Posted onJanuary 3, 2022January 4, 20222 Comments

I mean, who wants to say “living with COVID” amirite? The connotation is that it’s just a necessary thing we have to do. But really, at some point, it kind Read More …

CategoriesUncategorized

pexels-photo-5878501.jpeg

Ireland and the vaccinated hospitalised-it ain’t what it looks like

Posted onNovember 6, 2021November 7, 20213 Comments

The media have again become fixated on the higher number of COVID-19 fully-vaccinated people in Irish hospitals and ICUs – but when you apply a little mathematics, it’s clear that Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, Debunking, Vaccines & vaccination

WHO to new PCR users: read the damned manual!

Posted onJanuary 23, 2021January 23, 20218 Comments

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published (14th Dec 2020, then updated 20th Jan 2021) a piece of advice for laboratories testing for SARS-CoV-2 using PCR. The advice boils down: Read More …

CategoriesCOVID-19, PCR

Putting PCR into real-time

Posted onJanuary 2, 2021January 2, 20216 Comments

Three letters have been very busy in 2020: P. C. and R. The Polymerase Chain Reaction. It’s a tiny, thermally controlled, cyclical, enzyme-driven, chemical reaction which lets scientists identify the Read More …

CategoriesLaboratory methods, PCRTagsMicrobiology, Pathology laboratory

The mechanics of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)…a primer

Posted onDecember 28, 2020December 28, 2020

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique for copying a piece of DNA a billion-fold. As the name suggests, the process creates a chain of many pieces, in this Read More …

CategoriesDNA, Laboratory methods, PCRTagsdiagnostics, DNA Down Under (DDU)

The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral

Posted onDecember 26, 2020September 4, 202133 Comments

A visual representation of how to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 struck a chord with many in 2020. I won’t rehash all that has already been written about the Swiss cheese Read More …

CategoriesCommunication, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2

Happy Festive Season to all who read this….

Posted onDecember 24, 2020December 24, 20202 Comments

..whatever your shape, colour, gender, sex, size, beliefs, weight or disposition, I wish you a safe and happy festive season. May 2021 be a better year for those of us Read More …

CategoriesEditorial

The “false-positive PCR” problem is not a problem

Posted onNovember 22, 2020December 30, 202058 Comments

If you haven’t seen all the chatter that states PCRs using more than thirty-something (someone even suggested 25 to me!) cycles will suffer from false positives and so is useless, Read More …

CategoriesCoronavirus, COVID-19, PCR, SARS-CoV-2

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← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • An early & big flu rise in Australia June 7, 2022
  • BA.2.12.1 is on the rise in New York… May 2, 2022
  • Unexplained hepatitis: severe liver inflammation among young children April 25, 2022
  • Lockdowns had a role: they saved lives April 18, 2022
  • Super-cold or a silly headline? April 15, 2022
  • Arrrrr on the rise (Rhinovirus, RSV and RATs) March 19, 2022
  • Thank goodness we did all the work January 29, 2022
  • Living next door to Alice January 3, 2022
  • Ireland and the vaccinated hospitalised-it ain’t what it looks like November 6, 2021
  • WHO to new PCR users: read the damned manual! January 23, 2021
  • Putting PCR into real-time January 2, 2021
  • The mechanics of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)…a primer December 28, 2020
  • The Swiss cheese infographic that went viral December 26, 2020
  • Happy Festive Season to all who read this…. December 24, 2020
  • The “false-positive PCR” problem is not a problem November 22, 2020

All opinions are my own and do not represent medical advice or the views of any institution.

All graphics made by me are free-to-use. Please just cite the particular page, blog and me. A heads-up would be nice, but that can happen later.

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Regular reads…

  • FluTrackers-everything infectious, before it happens
  • Mike Coston’s Avian Flu Diary
  • Crawford Kilian’s infectious disease blog
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  • HealthMap
  • STAT News
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  • Maia Majumder’s blog
  • Kai Kupferschmidt
  • Martin Enserink
  • EpiRamblings

 

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